MST3K 506 - Eegah
The Movie Synopsis A young woman encounters a prehistoric giant man, who then runs off. Her father goes into the desert to seek the giant, but does not return. The girl and her musician boyfriend then journey into the desert themselves, where they find the giant's cave and rescue the father. The giant then tracks them all to their suburban neighborhood and wreaks havoc before being stopped by police. Information )]] *See ''Eegah'' (film) The Episode Host Segments '''Prologue: Servo tries to bring Crow's temperature down to absolute zero. Joel realizes it will probably kill all of them and tries to rescue Crow, who is so brittle from the cold he falls to pieces when Joel touches him Segment One (Invention Exchange): Joel patches up Crow, who laments his lack of resale value. For the invention exchange, Joel plays the Pork-orina, which is used to mimic the incidental music from rural-themed shows like Green Acres. Meanwhile, in Deep 13, Frank is late for his ice-dancing lesson, and drives Dr. F just batty enough to inspire the mad doc to replace Frank's blood with radiator fluid. Segment Two: Joel & the Bots talk about the full-service gas station from the film and their disappearance in recent years. This leads them into a discussion of the many subtle forms hell has taken in the last few decades. Segment Three: The Bots play doctor and alter Joel's face to look like Arch Hall Jr. with their sinister device. But Joel doesn't want to look like Arch Hall Jr... thank goodness for anesthetic. Segment Four: While making Jiffy Pop, Joel and the Bots ponder why most 1960's sitcoms featured single dads. Crow points out the SOL crew isn't much better off. Segment Five: The Bots feel dirty after watching the movie, so they take a hot refreshing show while Joel reads a letter. Dr. Forrester and Frank get into a fight over Frank's blood. Stinger: "Fake it." "That's what I've BEEN doing. Now I'm getting sick!" Callbacks * “Glen was 50 feet tall!” (War of the Colossal Beast) * “The Torgo school of fondling,” ("Manos" The Hands of Fate) * “To Live Like the Hu-Man” (Robot Monster) * “Durn smoochers!” (Attack of the the Eye Creatures) * “He tampered in God’s domain.” (Bride of the Monster) Trivia * Music featured in this episode include: ** "Holiday for Strings" (performed as "Holiday for Pigs") is performed by Joel, Crow, and Servo in the invention exchange. ** Portions of the following songs are performed during the film: *** Love Is All Around ''Written by Sonny Curtis Portion *** ''Suicide Is Painless ''Written by Johnny Mandel and Mike Altman *** ''Sugar Mountain Written by Neil Young *** We've Got a Groovey Thing Goin Written by Paul Simon Portion *** On the Street Where You Live Written by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe *** Red Roses for a Blue Lady Written by Roy C. Bennett and Sid Tepper *** Hooked on a Feeling Written by Francis Zambon (as Mark James) *** Good Morning Written by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed *** Jailhouse Rock Written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller *** Rag Doll Written by Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Jim Vallance, and Holly Knight *** Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Written by Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman *** The Pink Panther Theme Written by Henry Mancini *** Torn Between Two Lovers Written by Peter Yarrow and Phillip Jarrel *** Together Forever Written by Mike Stock, Matt Aitken, and Pete Waterman *** The Girl Is Mine Written by Michael Jackson *** How Do You Do Written by Hans van Hemert, Harry van Hoof * The riff line "Watch out for snakes!" originates from this movie; it refers to a bizarre disembodied voice (presumably Arch Hall Sr., the director) stating this off-camera when several characters are about to enter the desert in search for proof of Eegah. *The Invention Exchange mentions that the Pork-orina was developed in preparation for the Beverly Hillbillies movie. This episode of MST3K originally aired in August, 1993; the movie was released in October of the same year. * Ranked 13th in the Top 100 Episodes as chosen by backers of the Bring Back MST3K Kickstarter. * This episode aired second during Turkey Day '15. Obscure References *''"It seems to be exhibiting a sort of ineluctable defenestration..."'' Servo is mimicking the lexical and vocal habits of the late William F. Buckley, Jr. *''"Excuse me, which way Bly seminar?"'' Robert Bly was the author of the book Iron John, and a leading figure in the "Men's movement", which held that men should return to their more primitive roots. Some observers questioned the validity of Bly's philosophy, dismissing it as a crass money-making scheme. *''"Welcome to the Crypt, we've dug something up for you. Why not stick around and watch'' Dream On''? It's the 'breast' show on TV. Heh heh. Kill me!"'' Crow is imitating The Crypt Keeper, the host of Tales from the Crypt, an HBO show. He also references Dream On, another HBO show that featured nudity. In 1991, MST3K lost the Cable ACE award for Best Comedy Series to Dream On. *''"(Ding!) Sex appeal!"'' A reference to 70's commercials by Ultra Brite toothpaste. *''"I'm Charles Kuralt, and we're going to leave you with this shot of a flower..."'' Charles Kuralt was the host of CBS News Sunday Morning, a morning news show that would end with a tranquil scene of nature. *''"Hey, it's Scattergories!"'' Scattergories is a party game where people must think of things in a particular subject and beginning with a particular letter. * "She's chasing down Emmett Kelly!" Famed clown Emmett Kelly (seen eating a sandwich in ''Here Comes The Circus'') was best known for an act in which he attempted to sweep up a spotlight. *''"Glen was fifty feet tall...!"'' A reference to Col. Glen Manning, the Amazing Colossal Man . The quote is an observation made by his sister in the sequel. *''"Is that a real poncho or a Sears poncho?"'' A slightly misquoted line from the Frank Zappa song "Camarillo Brillo". *''"I'm dead. Don't smoke."'' A reference to an anti-smoking PSA that actor Yul Brynner filmed shortly before his death from lung cancer and had aired posthumously, in which he said "Now that I'm gone, I tell you... don't smoke." *''"Shakin' the bush, boss!"'' A well-known quote from the 1967 film Cool Hand Luke, about how members of the chain gang would step behind a bush to relieve themselves but shake it so the police escort would know they weren't trying to run off. *''"Is she really going out with him?"'' A reference to the Joe Jackson song "Is She Really Going Out With Him?" *''"Shouldn't there be a Ramcharger up there?"'' The Dodge Ramcharger was an SUV made until the early 1990s. Ads often depicted it at the top of a hill or mountain. *''"They took the whole Cherokee nation..."'' Servo is quoting the song "Indian Reservation" by Paul Revere and the Raiders. *''"It's under a big W..."'' The last words of the character played by Jimmy Durante in the 1963 comedy film It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, indicating where a treasure could be found. *''"Brian Jones!"'' Brian Jones was the original guitarist for the Rolling Stones, who drowned in a swimming pool in 1969. *''"He looks like the bat from FernGully!"'' A reference to the 1992 animated movie FernGully: The Last Rainforest. The bat character, Batty Koda, was spindly and bug-eyed with a wild mop of hair. *''"Hey, it's Schlepcar!"'' A reference to the Sid and Marty Krofft TV show Wonderbug, in which a living jalopy named Schlepcar could magically become the dune buggy of the title. *''"Roxie!" "Music!" "Roxie!" "And Elsewhere!"'' A reference to the band Roxy Music, and "Roxy & Elsewhere", a live album by Frank Zappa. *''"I am William Burroughs." '' "'''I' am William Burroughs." '' "'''I' am William Burroughs."'' An allusion to the game show To Tell The Truth. The late William S. Burroughs was a beat-era author (best known for The Naked Lunch ) who, due to years of heroin use, had a decidedly wraith-like appearance. *''"Put lime in coconut, drink it all up."'' From the song "Coconut" by Harry Nilsson (the recipe in the song is for a hangover remedy). *''"Econo Lodge?! But why?!"'' Econo Lodge is a chain of motels. *''"Richard Speck is there!"'' Richard Speck murdered eight student nurses in a killing spree in Chicago in 1966. *''"Please turn into Sweeney Todd!"'' Reference to the Stephen Sondheim musical Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Todd would murder people by cutting their throats with a straight razor as he shaved them. *''"He's Lawrence of Pasadena."'' A reference to T.E. Lawrence, the British military officer whose life inspired the film Lawrence of Arabia. *''"It's Wilfrid Hyde-White."'' Wilfrid Hyde-White was a noted British character actor. He is perhaps best-known for playing Colonel Pickering in the film of My Fair Lady. *''"Help me! Spock!"'' In the Star Trek episode entitled The Savage Curtain, a recreation of Surak (the father of modern Vulcan civilization) calls out for aid in a similar, melodramatic fashion as in this episode. * "When Edward Albee dabbles in beach movies..." The work of playwright Edward Albee, whose best known work is Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, ''often featured bickering couples. * ''"This band has more personnel changes than Menudo." The Puerto Rican boy band Menudo replaced members when they turned 16. * "Eegah! Eegah! Bonk bonk on the head!" A reference to the Star Trek episode "Miri" with a young "Only" inciting a fight by yelling "Bonk! Bonk! On the Head!" Video Release *Commercially released on VHS by Rhino Entertainment in August 1997. *Commercially released on DVD by Rhino in April 2000, the DVD also includes the original version of the movie. A feature of the DVD is a special mode where at certain part of the MST3K episode a icon of Crow's head will appear allowing the viewer to switch to the original movie to see what was cut out. **In May 2018 it was re-released by Shout! Factory in The Singles Collection. ***Special features for the re-released DVD include an introduction by Joel Hodgson and the film's trailer. *In 2019, The Film Detective released Eegah on DVD and Blu-ray featuring the MST3K episode as an extra, alongside interviews with Arch Hall Jr. and Joel Hodgson.https://www.thefilmdetective.com/eegah *Available for rent or purchase on Amazon's streaming service. References Category:MST3K Episodes Category:Season 5 Category:Star Trek spoofs Category:Episodes directed by Joel Hodgson